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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28713246">Gaps of Sunlight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hereforwords/pseuds/hereforwords'>hereforwords</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Happy Ending, M/M, Pining, Time Travel, yes it’s both somehow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:00:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,087</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28713246</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hereforwords/pseuds/hereforwords</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasuke didn't want this to turn into another dream about fighting Naruto. He desperately wanted this to be just another dream about fighting Naruto, if it meant knowing that none of this was real. Even though it was awful, close to one of the worst thoughts he'd ever had, all Sasuke could think was that he didn't want this.</p><p>Neither of them seemed happy, and this was supposedly their lives after they'd both gotten everything they'd ever wanted.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>120</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Gaps of Sunlight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>so, gonna be real i have not read/watched any boruto lmao i have a, let's just say complicated relationship with the way naruto ended, so everything i know about it is just stuff i've seen in the wilds online. i'm not really sure where this fic came from (i say for the 837th time) except that i really don't like Naruto with short hair lmaooooooooo</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sasuke had been awake for roughly two hours, and in about half that time he'd come to the realization that he'd probably lost his mind. This wasn't a genjutsu, he'd tested it in every way that there was, but Sasuke knew that this couldn't be real either. After all his time spent with Orochimaru, if there had been a way to do this Sasuke knew that he would have at least heard about it before being thrown in head first. This had to be a dream, somehow, even though Sasuke had never known when he was dreaming until waking up before now.</p><p>Whatever this was, it couldn't be true. There was no way Sasuke had truly woken up in the future, without a sign or even the faintest idea as to what had brought him there, let alone why. And even if there was some way to actually go to the future, there was no way it could actually be this. Sasuke still couldn't stop thinking about it, that stern face up on the mountainside. It had taken him a moment to even realize who it was meant to be. Sasuke had wondered what this future was like for the rock carving to have gotten so poor. He'd stood there looking up at it long enough for someone to recognize him, immediately realizing right after they wouldn't be able to handle fighting him. </p><p>It was only when they said they had to take him to the Hokage that Sasuke found himself cooperating, curiosity getting the best of him as he let them take him to a room to wait. He knew that this couldn't be real no matter how it felt, that it had to be a dream or a vision of some kind, but Sasuke couldn't help wondering all the same. Then the door behind him finally opened back up, and Sasuke wasn't thinking anything at all.</p><p>Apparently the rock carvers were fine, it was everything else Sasuke was starting to wonder about. It seemed impossible all at once that this could be a dream or anything that came from his own mind, not with what he was looking at. It felt unimaginable that Naruto could ever look like that, stern almost, like there was no give behind his eyes. He didn't look that much older, but the way he carried himself had completely changed, stiff and untrusting. His hair was too short, a detail that shouldn't have mattered at all but Sasuke couldn't seem to move past it.</p><p>It was only when their eyes met that Sasuke saw a flash of <em> something, </em>like a flicker of the person Sasuke actually knew coming over him before it was gone again just as quickly. Naruto turned to whisper something into the shinobi's ear next to him before they left, leaving the two of them alone. The person who couldn't really be Naruto walked over and stood a few paces away from where Sasuke sat, looking straight into Sasuke's eyes like he had no fear at all. </p><p>"Who are you?" Naruto asked, his voice deeper than Sasuke had been imagining. </p><p>"You know who I am."</p><p>Naruto looked completely unimpressed. "I know who you're pretending to be, I just can't imagine why or for what purpose, especially choosing to look like this. Why would anyone believe you when you made Sasuke look a decade younger?"</p><p>Sasuke couldn't seem to stop staring at Naruto's face. "So you're supposedly Naruto at twenty six, twenty seven?"</p><p>The strange older, seemingly made of rock version of Naruto standing before him didn't react at all. "There is no point in pretending."</p><p>Sasuke didn't bother to hold back a sigh. This was all obviously a dream that he couldn't seem to remember how to wake from, but Sasuke couldn't begin to understand why he was having it. This version of Naruto was quietly unsettling to him for reasons Sasuke couldn't begin to define. None of this could be real, so what he said now really didn't matter at all. "I can't figure this out."</p><p>Naruto squinted at him for a moment before his face went back to its carefully blank expression. "What?" </p><p>Even knowing this couldn't be real, saying the words still felt like a strange relief. "Why you look like that. I thought the rock carvers must have ruined yours, but then you walked in looking exactly the same."</p><p>"Even move proof you aren't who you say you are, it hasn't been that long, I don't look that different."</p><p>"But you do," Sasuke all but snapped, voice coming out harsher than he expected it to, "I didn't even know your face could look so hard. If I didn't already know you I would think you didn't care about anyone at all."</p><p>There was finally an expression on Naruto's face, but it was too fractured and held back to really be seen at all. "Who are you?"</p><p>Sasuke paid the question no mind, activating his sharingan against reason in the distant hope that he would be able to see anything else. He saw a flash of Naruto's chakra that looked completely changed from what he was used to and then Sasuke found himself slammed face first into the wall, Naruto's hands on his neck and holding both Sasuke's arms behind his back. Naruto’s voice was angry like Sasuke had never heard it before. "Tell me who you are and how you have those eyes. Right now."</p><p>It was getting harder and harder to keep believing this wasn't real when it felt so undeniably so, but it couldn't be. Still, Sasuke hesitated for a moment, considering. "Moron, you really can't tell it's me?" But Naruto just held him there that much tighter, and real or not Sasuke needed him to say something. "I guess everything you said really was a lie then."</p><p>"Shut up." But Naruto's voice didn't sound quite as hard as it had before, and his grip had finally stopped tightening.</p><p>"What was it you said exactly? That being Hokage didn't matter unless you <em> saved </em>me?" Sasuke turned his head to the side as far as it would go just to catch the look on Naruto's face. "I can see how long that lasted."</p><p>Naruto rose to the bait, just not in the way Sasuke had expected. "What do you get out of doing this? Sasuke came back to the village a long time ago." </p><p>Sasuke blinked, then let out an ugly sounding scoff. "Right, like I would ever come back here."</p><p>Naruto finally released him. Sasuke turned around when he felt Naruto step back, finally seeing something in his expression. "You can't be more than seventeen if you're saying that." </p><p>"I'm sixteen."</p><p>Naruto made a low considering sound. "Is Itachi still alive then?"</p><p>Sasuke felt like he'd been slapped. "What?"</p><p>"Sasuke killed Itachi when we were around that age."</p><p>
  <em> Sasuke killed Itachi  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Sasuke killed Itachi </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I killed  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>"What?" Sasuke blinked and it burned, trying to catch his breath while wondering when he'd let himself believe this was real. Sasuke took a step closer to Naruto without thinking, an unnamed emotion inside of him pushing him forward. "You can't lie about this, you have to–"</p><p>Suddenly there was a hand on his neck, pushing it to the side before he could react. Sasuke grunted just as Naruto sucked in a sharp breath, letting him go the moment after. Sasuke looked up at him with a glare, but whatever he'd been planning on saying left him when he saw just how Naruto was looking at him now.</p><p>"Tell me something only we would know," Naruto said quietly, something between hopeful and terrified looking out from his eyes, "Make me believe it's really you."</p><p>It felt impossible to think of anything next to the weight of what Naruto had just said, but Sasuke knew he had to try. Admitting he remembered any of this felt like a betrayal to everything he stood for, but if he was truly standing in the future all of his old grudges and goals probably didn't matter anymore. If Itachi was truly dead Sasuke couldn't care about anything else, especially something as insignificant as his own embarrassment. "You got me a tomato plant for my twelfth birthday. I told you it was dumb, but I kept it until I left."</p><p>Naruto looked like he didn't know how to understand what he was hearing, like he couldn't dare to believe that any of this was true. "What were you doing before you got here?"</p><p>Again, Sasuke couldn't think of a reason to lie anymore. "I was with my team. I fought an Akatsuki member and had been resting but we're on the move again."</p><p>Naruto looked more and more worried. "And before that?" </p><p>"Before that I killed Orochimaru. Before that I trained. Before that you showed up." Sasuke suddenly realized this was the perfect opportunity to ask what has always felt like a pointless question living inside of him. "Had you come from a fight then? You seemed exhausted."</p><p>"Yeah," Naruto said, his voice distant. He was looking at Sasuke like he was a ghost. "We ran into Orochimaru."</p><p>Sasuke was angry for half a moment before he remembered that Orochimaru was dead. He waited, but Naruto just kept looking at him like he didn't know how to believe Sasuke was real. "Naruto. Tell me."</p><p>Naruto swallowed, his eyes still far away. "You killed him, you two fought and he died. I don't know details, it wasn't like you brought it up to talk about." </p><p>Sasuke knew it was foolish to believe any of this was real, but he had to trust his own senses and all of this felt like too much of everything to not be painfully so. Sasuke knew he could have never dreamed up a Naruto like this, and his dreams were never kind to him, he never got to hear those words no matter how desperately he called out for them night after night. Against everything he knew to be possible Sasuke believed he was really there, in the future, so what Naruto was saying had to be true. </p><p>Itachi was really gone. </p><p>He'd actually done it.</p><p>One day, it would truly all be over.</p><p>"You said I came back?" Sasuke asked, realizing there was an easy option to clear up any lingering doubts inside of him.</p><p>"You did."</p><p>"Let me talk to myself then, there couldn't be a better test to prove if all of this is true."</p><p>Naruto was quiet for too long. "You're away on a mission, and I don't expect you back anytime soon."</p><p>Sasuke took another step closer, needing this to be real, needing to know without a shadow of a doubt that all of it would get to end the way he needed it to. "Then show me anything to prove I'm here now, that I really came back to the village." </p><p>
  <em> If I came back it has to be true. I would have never returned if Itachi was still alive. </em>
</p><p>"You're the one who should be convincing me, not–"</p><p>"Naruto," Sasuke cut in, unable to care anymore and reached out to hold Naruto's upper arm as he took another step closer. He had to tilt his head back just slightly to keep looking at Naruto now. He finally had an expression on his face that Sasuke knew, but it didn't make sense to see it here and now. Naruto shouldn't have been looking at him like he still desperately wished Sasuke would come back, not when he was right before him and apparently a part of the village again. </p><p>"I don't know what to say, if it's really you I probably shouldn't have said anything at all." Naruto looked like he was seeing far off from now, to all the countless possibilities the future held for them after this point, "I can't think of any way to show you that won't reveal even more that you shouldn't know."</p><p>"I don't give a shit!" Sasuke moved both his hands to Naruto's shirt collar and held it, ignoring the way Naruto was looking at him and his slow creeping realization that he really had no chance against this version of Naruto at all. "I don't care about anything else that's ever happened to me, just prove to me I do this, that I don't fail, tell me that it all wasn't for nothing." </p><p>Sasuke's hands shook and he felt more cut up than he could remember in recent memory, shaking Naruto again and knowing he only moved because he was letting Sasuke move him. But he still wasn't saying anything, and Sasuke felt more desperate with every breath he took, suddenly giving voice to half formed thoughts he'd never let himself look for longer than a moment. "Don't you care? If I'm really back we must be close, I can't imagine myself figuring it out with anyone else."</p><p>"Figuring what out?" </p><p>Hardly breathing Sasuke let his hands relax, his fingers slowly fanning out over Naruto's chest, just beginning to touch his shoulders. But he couldn't say it. Sasuke looked up at Naruto, waiting for everything all at once, <em> tell me, tell me, tell me, </em>on a constant loop inside of him. </p><p>Naruto leaned in the smallest bit closer, Sasuke's thoughts nothing but an endless howling wind inside of him before Naruto pulled back all at once. He turned and walked away, over to the desk at the back of the room and sat down, rubbing a hand over his face. He looked as old as Sasuke had ever seen him, like all the years had done nothing but add more and more weight to his shoulders. Sasuke realized all at once what really made Naruto look so distinctly other now. </p><p>He didn't look like a happy person anymore.</p><p>"Come here," Naruto said without looking up.</p><p>Sasuke walked over tense all over, stopping a step away from the desk. Naruto picked up a picture frame from off of his desk, one that Sasuke realized was next to that same old photo of team seven. Sasuke focused on not thinking about it as he reached out to take the other picture from Naruto's hand.</p><p>It took a moment for Sasuke to even realize what he was looking at, and then a bitter laugh was falling out of him before he could stop it. </p><p>"What?" Naruto snapped.</p><p>Sasuke just shook his head, not bothering to look at Naruto when he knew there was no chance any of this was true. "I can't believe I let myself think this was real." </p><p>"That picture is exactly what you wanted, it proves you came back."</p><p>Sasuke let out a disbelieving noise, waving the picture frame in his hand. "All this does is prove that this hasn't been real from the start." </p><p>"Why?"</p><p>Sasuke felt like he was losing it all over again. "Are you kidding me right now?"</p><p>"That's us." </p><p>"In what world?" Sasuke laughed again before he could stop it, looking down at the photo again. It looked no better this time and Sasuke set it down, turned away from himself. "I would never marry her. And who was that with you?"</p><p>Naruto was back to that uncomfortably blank expression. "Hinata Hyuga."</p><p>"Exactly." Sasuke shook his head, the absurdity of it all just too much. "Her? My subconscious must have picked her just because she's the only girl I can remember ever showing any interest in you."</p><p>Naruto's expression did something weird again. "You remember that?"</p><p>But Sasuke didn't feel like talking anymore, he just needed this to be over. Sasuke turned away, intent on walking out the door and going anywhere else while he figured out how to wake up again, but Naruto was there before he could even take his first step.</p><p>"I can't let you leave, not until we figure out what's happened."</p><p>Sasuke didn't want this to turn into another dream about fighting Naruto. He desperately wanted this to be just another dream about fighting Naruto, if it meant knowing that none of this was real. Even though it was awful, close to one of the worst thoughts he'd ever had, all Sasuke could think was that he didn't want this. He couldn't stop thinking of them both in that picture, eyes vacant staring out of the frame.</p><p>Neither of them seemed happy, and this was supposedly their lives after they'd both gotten everything they'd ever wanted.</p><p>Even knowing from what glimpses he'd seen from Naruto that he couldn't win, Sasuke braced himself for a fight all the same. "Why should I have to stay? Just let me go, I can figure this out on my own."</p><p>Naruto shook his head. "Anyone who knew you before would recognize you."</p><p>"Even you didn't want to believe it was me, I'm sure everyone else would convince themselves of the same."</p><p>"I didn't–" but Naruto cut himself off, shaking his head lightly as he turned to look out one of the windows. The first moment Sasuke shifted even the smallest bit his eyes were back on him. "None of that matters, I still can't let you leave. Any power that was strong enough to bring you here is a problem."</p><p>Sasuke finally asked the question that was burning up inside of him. "Why do you believe it's me now? Even after what I said before I could tell you still had doubts."</p><p>Naruto's mouth twitched, the first hint of who he'd always been finally creeping out for Sasuke to see. He felt almost glued to the sight of it, realizing all at once just how long it had really been since he'd seen anything close to it. Sasuke had never put it to words before, but looking at this sad hidden smile from this too old and too bitter version of Naruto made him realize he hadn't seen his own Naruto really smile since they were still kids. </p><p>Was this what his Naruto was turning into right now?</p><p>"Your reaction to the picture."</p><p>"What?" Sasuke asked, not expecting that answer at all, "Why? I don't even believe it's true."</p><p>"Someone pretending to be you would have assumed you and Sakura were childhood sweethearts with how everything ended up." Naruto gave him another almost smile. "Or at least wouldn't have acted like the idea was impossible it was such a joke."</p><p>"You know the fact that you knew I would think that is pretty telling."</p><p>Naruto visibly sighed. "People change Sasuke."</p><p>"Not in my experience." Sasuke realized he was still just standing there when he needed to be leaving, his annoyance with Naruto overriding everything else. He moved roughly half a step before Naruto's hand was on his arm.</p><p>"I told you, you can't leave. Don't make me make you stay."</p><p>Sasuke felt too hot all over, pulling his arm away from Naruto's hold with no success. He didn't listen to what anyone wanted of him anymore, least of all this version of Naruto that was as captivating as it was uncomfortable. Sasuke finally tore his arm free. "Make me then."</p><p>And Naruto did. It happened so quickly Sasuke hardly had time to feel shocked, only a distant sense of wonder coming over him before everything went dark.</p><p>*</p><p>Sasuke woke up with his dream still clinging to his mind, heart racing with a scream waiting at the back of his throat. For a moment Sasuke just focused on his breath, not opening his eyes until he could take one again without it feeling like the air for it was being scraped out of his lungs. Then he saw the ceiling above him.</p><p>Sitting up in a rush Sasuke just barely held back a groan, head aching and back stiff. He was still in the same room as before, Naruto's office, but the man himself was nowhere in sight. He'd left Sasuke there alone. </p><p>It wasn't until a half formed plan had taken shape in his mind to escape that Sasuke realized what waking up there actually meant, and then all thoughts of planning left him. He knew this wasn't genjutsu, and it was impossible to still believe this was just a dream, so there was really only one completely unbelievable option left. Sasuke was actually in the future. </p><p>This was really his future. </p><p>Naruto's voice from before was echoing in his head now, the words Sasuke hadn't known how to believe and that even now felt too big to comprehend. The idea that he'd really done it, that he'd actually killed Itachi was everything he'd thought of for so long Sasuke felt like there was a hole in his mind now, desperately searching for a memory of the act he didn't have to fill it up with. Sasuke realized he could hear his own breathing and forced it to slow. </p><p>Then he remembered the photo on Naruto's desk, the child in Sakura's arms he'd hardly looked at in his disbelief. Sasuke knew he hadn't moved but he felt completely unstable, like he was in the middle of a free fall with the ground nowhere in sight. Leaning forward, Sasuke dropped his head down against his bent knees, hands digging into his shins as he tried to breathe without feeling like he was moments away from shattering. </p><p>Sasuke wasn't sure how long he sat there like that, only knowing that his hands and chest ached by the time it finally felt like he could lift up his head again. Still unsteady, Sasuke moved until his back was resting against the wall. He let his eyes fall shut again as his head fell back against the wall too, telling himself that he could deal with this just like he had everything else. He just couldn't shake the nagging thought that he didn't want to have to <em> deal </em> with his future, not when it was one of the few things he still wanted.</p><p>Sasuke couldn't figure out how to want this. </p><p>The door opened and Sasuke could sense that it was Naruto right away, not bothering to open his eyes as he listened to Naruto's footsteps bring him closer and closer. They stopped when Naruto must have only been a few steps away.</p><p>"Sasuke."</p><p>That shouldn't have been enough, but Sasuke opened his eyes all the same. Looking at Naruto was just as jarring as it had been the first time. It was his eyes that made it impossible to believe he was anyone else, despite them still being more closed off than Sasuke could remember ever seeing them before all of this. </p><p>"Are you going to try and run off again? I really don't feel like fighting."</p><p>Sasuke thought calling it a fight at all was generous considering Naruto had taken him down with one move, but he shook his head anyway. There didn't seem to be a point in leaving now when Sasuke knew he was stuck out of time, that all the things he needed to do had already been done. He couldn't stop wondering what Itachi had looked like, what his last words had been, how close he himself had come to death to make it happen. But Naruto already said he didn't know, so any hope Sasuke had of knowing rested with himself. </p><p>"You're the Hokage," Sasuke started, the words strange on his tongue, "Can't you just order me back from whatever mission I'm on?"</p><p>"Why would I?" </p><p>"I'm living his past, so wouldn't he remember how I get back to my own time?"</p><p>Naruto took a moment to respond. "Maybe, but I really think you would have at least mentioned this to me if it had happened."</p><p>"It is happening," Sasuke snapped, head aching and his patients gone, "I'm here aren't I? Obviously it happened."</p><p>But Naruto still didn't look convinced. "It might be more complicated than that."</p><p>"What then?" </p><p>"I have some people looking into it, for now we just have to wait."</p><p>There was nothing Sasuke hated more than having to wait for an unknown, but he knew he was stuck without any other options. He was really at Naruto's mercy here, and Sasuke was distantly relieved for the first time that he apparently had never been fully successful in pushing Naruto away. But Sasuke couldn't help wondering exactly what they were to each other now, especially with how Naruto couldn't seem to stop looking at him like Sasuke was a ghost, or a dream that he wished he could wake up from.</p><p>Naruto almost looked guilty, but Sasuke was too exhausted to tell if he was just projecting or not. "So what, am I just supposed to stay here in your office until your <em> people </em>figure something out?"</p><p>"No, obviously." A flash of annoyance came over Naruto's face before it was gone again just as quickly. "I'm just not sure where you should stay honestly."</p><p>"Just get me a room somewhere." Sasuke paused and really looked at Naruto's expression. "Or do you just not trust me enough to leave me alone?" </p><p>"That's not it." But Naruto didn't elaborate and just walked over to his desk, sitting down and starting to look through a few scrolls. He signed a couple before he went on, still not looking over at Sasuke. "It's everyone else I have the problem trusting."</p><p>Oh. </p><p>"So what then?" Sasuke found himself saying the most ridiculous thing he could think of. "Am I gonna come stay with you? Play house?"</p><p>Naruto still wasn't looking at him. "That probably wouldn't work either."</p><p>"It wasn't a serious suggestion."</p><p>"Do you have one?"</p><p>Sasuke pushed himself up from the floor, walking over to stand right in front of Naruto's desk. He waited, longer than he ever should have had to but Naruto still didn't look up at him again. Sasuke couldn't pinpoint what about it was so aggravating but the longer Naruto looked down at his desk the more irritated Sasuke felt.</p><p>"What?" Naruto finally asked.</p><p>"Why won't you look at me?" Sasuke hadn't meant to actually ask the question that had been incessantly picking at the back of his mind, but this on top of everything else just felt like too much. This version of Naruto left Sasuke unbalanced in a way he couldn't remember ever feeling before now. </p><p>Naruto's hand tightened on his pen for a moment before he laid it down, <em> finally </em>lifting his head to look at Sasuke. There was no give to his expression, but something in his eyes had Sasuke clamping down on the urge to shift where he stood. "I still have to run the village on top of figuring out what happened to you and what to do with you until then, I don't need the added–" Naruto stopped, his eyebrows coming together before he gestured vaguely at Sasuke "–of seeing you like this again."</p><p>"What? You don't think it's weird for me to see you like this too?"</p><p>"It's different." Naruto sighed, leaning back in his chair as his posture loosened, suddenly a strange reflection of the Naruto Sasuke had always known. "I don't have any happy memories of you looking like this. They're all just fighting and yelling and the both of us being too stubborn for our own good."</p><p>Sasuke was halfway to responding before he stopped himself, realizing every reaction inside of him didn't fit anymore. For this Naruto Sasuke was already back, at least technically anyway, and had been for a long time. Still, Sasuke couldn't push away the question of why Naruto would look at him like that even now. "Do you have better ones once I get older?"</p><p>It happened so quickly that Sasuke knew close to everyone else would have missed it, but for just a moment after he spoke Naruto looked gutted, a flash of emotion like lightning across his face that was gone again just as quickly. Then he looked down as his expression cleared, like it had never wavered at all. "Yeah, of course."</p><p>It felt like there was a distant ringing in his ears, like Sasuke had spent all day under water and now they couldn't unclog now that he was back on dry land. Irrationally he almost wanted to shake his head and get the water out, even though Sasuke knew there was nothing but his own sudden overwhelming anxieties to blame. They were what pushed the next awful words from his mouth too. "Are we even close again? Or do you just keep these pictures on your desk to pretend we are?"</p><p>Against all reason those were the words that made Naruto turn to him with a smile, brief but undeniable. "I forgot how much of an asshole you used to be."</p><p>"Am I not anymore?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask once he finally found the words, genuinely surprised.</p><p>Naruto just shrugged. "Sometimes. But no, I wouldn't really describe you that way now."</p><p>"What am I like then?"</p><p>But Naruto just shook his head, giving Sasuke what felt like an unreadable look before turning back to his work. "Just go sit down for a while, let someone else handle something for you for once."</p><p>Sasuke waited for the need to argue that was always so quick to take him in situations like this, but for once it didn't come. After a moment more Sasuke turned and walked over to a seat near the corner and sat down, hardly able to believe that he had. Sasuke knew he wasn't acting like himself at all but Naruto's words seemed to have pulled the fight from him, leaving him with nothing but his own nerves and exhaustion. </p><p>Turning his head to rest his chin on his palm Sasuke watched Naruto, now across the room and seemingly engrossed with his work. The idea that this was the same person was still like a puzzle piece from the wrong box in his mind, but the parts that almost fit wouldn't seem to leave Sasuke alone. He couldn't stop thinking about how strong Naruto was now, holding that kind of quiet confidence everyone acted like they had but so few actually held.</p><p>A part of him wanted to just give in and trust all of this to Naruto. Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he'd had a thought so dangerous.</p><p>*</p><p>The next few days were a strange blur mixed with seemingly endless stretches of time. Sasuke didn't do well with waiting anymore, not when it had felt like he'd been on the edge of finally breaking free from everything holding him down. But Itachi was already gone here, so Sasuke had no goal or purpose, nothing to direct his thoughts or fill the endless hours of each day with.</p><p>Nothing but Naruto anyway.</p><p>There was a room next to Naruto's office that he had said Sasuke could use. It looked and felt too well worn all over for Naruto to have only used it on the occasional late night like he said he had, but Sasuke hadn't pressed him on it. The wall between the room and the office was thin and Sasuke heard exactly how late Naruto left at night, he just couldn't think about why he cared so much. Without the picture on his desk Sasuke would have assumed Naruto still didn't have any family, especially with how little time he seemed to actually spend at home.</p><p>It had only been two nights but whatever strange level of calm that had fallen over him was gone. Sasuke was tired of hiding his chakra when Naruto had a meeting. He was tired of watching Naruto sign scrolls. He was tired of sitting around doing nothing when his own life was probably passing him by in his time.</p><p>"Naruto."</p><p>Naruto made a low sound and didn't look up from his work. It was late now, close to when Sauske would normally turn into the sad little room next door and lay in the dark, listening for the sound of Naruto leaving. Maybe it was the late hour that made him say it, maybe it was his seemingly never ending boredom, maybe it was just that Sasuke couldn't stand to sit there and watch Naruto look like that anymore, not when Naruto was doing the one thing he'd always claimed to want more than anything. </p><p>Well, almost anything. </p><p>"I end up doing something awful, don't I?"</p><p>Naruto finally paused his work and looked up, whatever he found on Sasuke's face worrying enough for the expression to actually show on his own. "What are you talking about?"</p><p>Sasuke had always made it a point to think about Naruto as little as possible, especially back then, looking up at Sasuke like he was every dream and nightmare Naruto had ever had rolled into one, like he had no hope of ever looking away again. Thinking back on it now while looking at this closed off man Naruto had become left Sasuke feeling strangely adrift, like learning what you thought had been the north star your whole life was actually just a plain star like any other. "I should be here with you, and I'm not."</p><p>Naruto just looked at him for a long moment, eyes lost before it was all gone again, hidden away from Sasuke's view. "You're just on a mission."</p><p>"So when am I due back?"</p><p>"I already told you, I'm not–"</p><p>"When did I leave then?" Sasuke cut in, completely done with this conversation. "How long have I been gone?"</p><p>Naruto was unblinking looking down at the scroll before him, like it was so important he couldn't tear his eyes away, but Sasuke could see that his eyes weren't even moving. "It doesn't matter."</p><p>Sasuke hated being right this way, when you couldn't even let yourself enjoy it. "The fact that you won't tell me just proves my point. How many months has it been then?"</p><p>Then Naruto spoke and only made it worse. "Fourteen."</p><p>That was over a year. </p><p>Sasuke couldn't stop looking over at the back of the picture frames on Naruto's desk, lost and so angry all at once he felt like he would snap in two if he tried to even breathe against it. This was never supposed to be how they ended up. This wasn't right at all. </p><p>This couldn't really be the future he'd sacrificed so much to achieve, could it?</p><p>"Sasuke?" Naruto said, not softer but Sasuke had never figured out a way to describe it, that certain tone Naruto would use when it was just the two of them. </p><p>It was the first time Sasuke had heard it since waking up here, and besides that one awful time it was the first time he'd heard it in years. Their eyes met before Sasuke could decide if he was ready or not, like it was second nature for them to look when the other said their name. Sasuke could easily recognize Naruto before him now, but that only made him feel worse. Suddenly the idea that his Naruto could really turn into this was all he could think about. </p><p>"We–" but Sasuke forced himself to stop, horrified with what he'd even been considering saying. But the need to know wouldn't leave him, and an awful voice at the back of his head wouldn't stop telling him that nothing he did here could really matter at all.</p><p>Naruto stood up, the last thing Sasuke expected him to do, leaving his work behind as he walked over to where Sasuke sat on the small couch along the wall and dropped down next to him. "Look," he started, not turning his head towards Sasuke, "I know this is a lot for you to deal with, but I shouldn't tell you about anything that happens between us."</p><p>"So it must be really awful then."</p><p>"That's not what I said."</p><p>"Can you just tell me one thing?" Sasuke asked, staring so hard at the side of Naruto's face he knew Naruto had to feel it. </p><p>Naruto glanced at him, guarded and slightly worried. "What?" </p><p>"Who got married first, me or you?" </p><p>Naruto shifted on the couch and turned towards him, expression open in a way that Sasuke knew meant he hadn't been expecting the question at all. His voice was quiet when he finally responded. "I did."</p><p>For the first time since he'd arrived Sasuke looked away first. "And then I started leaving, didn't I?" </p><p>Naruto didn't say anything to that, his silence an answer enough in itself. Sasuke almost wanted to laugh. Inside it felt like he was crying, though his eyes were as dry as they could be. It hurt, but Sasuke turned to look at Naruto again anyway, completely unprepared for what was waiting for him. Naruto looked crushed, lost, something Sasuke's traitorous heart wanted to call heartbroken.</p><p>For the first time Sasuke considered the fact that they had never talked about this at all here, even in the vaguest of terms. Sasuke knew if he was looking at his Naruto he never would have said a word, pride and embarrassment and too many other conflicting emotions to name always holding him back. Sasuke just couldn't believe he'd never pushed past the feeling, that he'd simply stood by and watched as they both let their lives turn out this way.</p><p>Maybe Sasuke was just never supposed to be happy in this life, plenty of people went their whole lives without ever really feeling it. He'd had a few years when he was young, unappreciated and gone before Sasuke could understand what a beautiful fleeting feeling it really was. The only time he'd ever really felt it again had been with Naruto, and even then Sasuke had tried to push it away at all costs. Sasuke hated realizing he was a fool, but realizing he'd been this big of one almost felt like more than he could take. </p><p>"What?" Naruto asked, and it was only then Sasuke realized he'd been shaking his head. </p><p>"Nothing." Sasuke pushed himself up from the couch. "I'm going to bed."</p><p>Some part of him wanted Naruto to call out to him, to try and hold him back, but just like every other night Sasuke walked away in silence. It was a long time still before he heard Naruto leave.</p><p>*</p><p>When Sasuke opened his eyes he knew it wasn't morning yet, but the nagging feeling that something had woken him wouldn't leave him. Then he heard the faint sound of movement from the office outside, steps against the floor followed by the sound of a chair being pulled out. He hadn't bothered to hide it, so Sasuke could sense that it was Naruto right away. Debating for half a moment Sasuke sat up, a chill coming over his bare arms as the blanket fell away.</p><p>There was no noise from the office now but Sasuke knew that Naruto was still out there, sitting in the dark completely alone. Sasuke thought about getting dressed for half a moment before standing up instead, knowing that the pants and shirt Naruto had given him to sleep in weren't that much different to begin with. </p><p>Sasuke pushed open the door and found Naruto sitting at his desk chair like he'd expected, but he was turned towards the dark window instead, looking out at the night sky. Sasuke felt a moment of blinding grief he couldn't explain that was gone again just as quickly. After a moment Naruto turned to look at him, his face highlighted in the cool moonlight. Something about the look on his face made Sasuke feel caught, almost trapped, like he was waiting for an unknown that he had no hope of escaping from.</p><p>Naruto smiled, a small thing that sat strangely on his face. "We know what happened to bring you here, you'll be able to go back tomorrow."</p><p>It took a moment for Sasuke to respond, not expecting the disappointment that sat heavily against his chest. "How?"</p><p>"It was someone in my time, trying to–well the reason why wouldn't really make sense to you." Naruto looked Sasuke over one more time before turning back to the window. "It's just a jutsu to send you back, I guess I could do it now if you wanted."</p><p>"No." It was only when Naruto looked over in clear surprise that Sasuke realized he'd spoken at all. </p><p>"No?" </p><p>"It's late," was all Sasuke could think to say, like that was any reason at all. He wasn't sure what had pushed him to speak in the first place, he just knew that he wasn't ready for this to be over, not yet. Sasuke felt almost blindsided by the idea of actually leaving now, this suddenly and with no warning. </p><p>Naruto's voice was hardly above a whisper. "Does that matter?" </p><p>Sasuke couldn't say that it did and mean it, so he ignored the question all together. "What are you doing here?"</p><p>"This is my office."</p><p>Sasuke took a step out of the door frame, and then another, and then another. Words felt distant and pointless, but somehow saying nothing felt even worse. "It's late."</p><p>"Sasuke," Naruto said, something like a warning in his voice, "I just came here to think, it's habit. Go back to bed."</p><p>"I wasn't sleeping."</p><p>"Yes you were," Naruto said without missing a beat, "I felt your chakra shift when you woke up."</p><p>Sasuke tried and failed not to react, refusing to let himself look away from Naruto now even with the way his ears were beginning to burn.</p><p>"Go back to bed," Naruto said again quietly, hardly sounding like he believed the words as he did. </p><p>Sasuke moved to stand in front of Naruto, the window at his back as he looked down at him. Naruto titled his head back, throat moving slowly as Sasuke watched him swallow. The room was so quiet it felt like he could hear his own heart beating, his own blood moving through his veins. "If this is my last night here, is that really what you want?" </p><p>"Sasuke." Naruto said his name like it was a warning. "Just go back to bed, please."</p><p>Whatever Sasuke had been planning on saying was lost to him. All he could think about was the way Naruto was looking at him, desperate and almost scared, a look Sasuke knew all too well. But it had never been with words asking him to leave, it had always been stay, don't leave, please <em> please </em> come back. "That's not what you're supposed to say."</p><p>"Don't–" but Naruto's voice fell away when Sasuke took another step forward, right in front of Naruto now, shins pressed to the edge of Naruto's chair between his spread legs.</p><p>"Ask me to stay," Sasuke said quietly, feeling like a stranger to himself, like someone who could ever selfishly want anything at all.</p><p>Naruto's knuckles were close to white he was gripping the armrest so tight, hardly looking to be breathing at all. "You can't stay, you have to go back–"</p><p>"Pretend," Sasuke cut in, "It should be easy for you with the way I look. Just pretend it's how it used to be."</p><p>Naruto's lips parted but he didn't make a sound, looking up at Sasuke like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, like he could hardly believe that Sasuke was real. Burning all over Sasuke reached out and laid his hand over Naruto's, thumb moving slowly over Naruto's tense one. </p><p>"Sasuke," Naruto breathed out, like his name was a blessing and a curse all at once, "I can't just–"</p><p>"Why not?" Sasuke asked, maybe even demanded, done all at once with not saying it when it felt like this would be their only chance. "Or have you already forgotten it felt like?"</p><p>Embarrassment was like a second skin but Sasuke couldn't stop now that he'd started, not until he got a reaction, an answer, <em> anything </em>but this nothing. Sasuke had known that he'd wanted this for what felt like too long to ignore, but it had always been distant and far away, a need that had to wait until after like all the others, an ache inside of him that he'd always thought there would be time to deal with later.</p><p>Now that he knew there was no later for them Sasuke wanted it now more than he could say.</p><p>"I could never forget," Naruto finally said in a hardly there voice, his eyes moving endless over Sasuke's face, like he was trying to memorize this moment in time and save it away forever. </p><p>Sasuke squeezed Naruto's hand, waiting. It felt like he didn't have it in himself to ask for anymore, the tattered pieces of his pride threatening to choke him. But Naruto still looked so lost, undecided and overwhelmed. </p><p>“So just say it,” Sasuke forced out, desperate and awful, exposing the whole of himself all at once, every needy corner that all he'd done for years was try to hide away. "Ask me, like you used to."</p><p>Naruto looked something close to gutted, mouth parting only to close again. Then he shook his head, a barely there thing that Sasuke would have given anything not to see now. “We can’t pretend. You need to go back.”</p><p>It felt like he was losing Naruto all over again, even though he’d never really lost him at all. Sasuke had made them end up this way, he knew it, even though Naruto wouldn’t put it to words. If Sasuke had ever been anyone but himself maybe Naruto would have reached out, not turned to the arms of someone else. All at one tears flooded his eyes, weak and exposing, but Sasuke still couldn’t bring himself to look away. It felt like these were the last truly honest moments with Naruto he would ever get to have. </p><p>“Sasuke.” Naruto sounded so close to the way he used to, but it still wasn’t quite right. None of this was right.</p><p>“You’re really okay with this?” Sasuke asked before he could think, angrily blinking away the burn from his eyes. “I know I can’t be.”</p><p>Naruto looked as lost as someone could, and then he just looked tired. Shaking his head he got up from his seat, pushing Sasuke back as he took a few heavy steps away. “You don’t understand.”</p><p>Sasuke couldn’t remember ever feeling this way before, wanted but not, missed but brushed aside, not alone but more lonely than he could bear. Naruto was never supposed to be the one to push him away. Naruto had always been the one desperately waiting to pull him back. </p><p>For days Sasuke had been convinced there was some moment between them lost to him, some disaster created by his own hands that must have brought them to this future, but suddenly he wasn’t sure of anything. Maybe nothing at all had brought them here but each other, unchanging for so long that they both ended up completely unrecognizable. Maybe even someone like Naruto could only reach out blindy for so long before something inside of him closed up. Maybe Sasuke was asking for the impossible. </p><p>“Fine,” Sasuke forced out, not sure if he hated life or himself more, “Send me back.”</p><p>Naruto turned back, his eyes widening just slightly. “Now?”</p><p>Sasuke felt a bitter expression he couldn’t remember how to hide pull across his face. “There’s nothing left to say, is there? And you finally won’t have to look at me anymore.”</p><p>For a flash Naruto looked like he would argue, but it was gone again almost just as quickly. That same distance that had made Sasuke convinced he was looking at a lie when he’d first arrived came over Naruto’s eyes again, but Sasuke could see it for the mask that it was now. It only made this moment feel that much more impossible, but Sasuke knew there was no other moment for them to have. Maybe distance was all they could ever have between them.</p><p>Naruto took a half step closer, raising his hands like he would really send Sasuke back without a word before they dropped back down to his sides again. Somehow his eyes were bluer than they’d been in the moment before, beautiful and so familiar that something inside Sasuke boomed and withered all at once. Then Naruto smiled, like passed and present couldn’t touch him for a moment, completely timeless. “Don’t let this ruin things for you, okay? Where you’re going you’re still the only thing I can see.”</p><p>“Does that mean you–” </p><p>It was all Sasuke could get out before his vision started to go dark, the last thing he saw Naruto’s hands lowering from their seals, his sad, warm smile.</p><p>Sasuke felt like he was in freefall, spinning inside with wind that wasn’t wind at all rushing against his ears. He couldn't tell how long it had been, feeling like he’d just been standing before Naruto and like a hundred years had passed since all at once. And then just as suddenly as it had started it was over, Sasuke left disoriented but definitely still standing. It took another moment for him to realize that his eyes were closed and the world hadn’t just gone black, so slowly, almost feeling like it was for the very first time Sasuke opened his eyes.</p><p>Him and Naruto probably should have thought for even half a moment on where exactly the jutsu was going to spend him back to. </p><p>**</p><p>The sound of footsteps pulled Sasuke from his useless thoughts, turning to see someone walk up to his cell that he wasn't really surprised to see at all, having expected him sooner. Time seemed to have hardly touched him, but then again, when you only showed off one eye and had grey hair to begin with, that probably wasn't that hard. "Kakashi."</p><p>"Sasuke." Kakashi titled his head just barely to the side, clearly taking Sasuke in. "I must say, hearing that you suddenly appeared in the middle of the Hokage's office wasn't the news I thought I would come back to."</p><p>"That makes two of us."</p><p>"Still sticking with that story?"</p><p>Sasuke couldn't have held back his scoff if he'd tried. "Why on earth would I have wanted to do that? Look where I am now."</p><p>Kakashi just shrugged. "Maybe you thought you could win, you always were overly confident."</p><p>Sasuke bit back his first response, sighing as he turned to glare at the wall again instead of look at Kakashi. "You know there's only one thing I want, what could breaking into the Hokage's office have to do with that?"</p><p>Kakashi made a low sound followed by nothing.</p><p>Sasuke refused to fill the silence himself. He wouldn't ask the question that had been scraping at the inside of his skull for days, the hope and disappointment that had been filling him up inside with each new person who came down to mock him in this cell. He wouldn't ask it. He wouldn't. It was close to the last thing he could let himself do.</p><p>Kakashi yawned, shifting where he stood. </p><p>"So where is he then?"</p><p>"Who?" Kakashi asked, with the gall to sound genuinely confused.</p><p>Sasuke turned a glare at Kakashi. "Don't play dumb."</p><p>Kakashi's eye curled up into a smile, saying nothing.</p><p>Sasuke's jaw ached from how hard he had it clenched. It felt like giving up, but it wasn't like he had much leverage to use now, if any. And he couldn't ignore it anymore, no matter how much he knew that he should. "Naruto." </p><p>The name came out too soft, horrible and honest. Even Sasuke could hear it, the thing he refused to name that had taken root between his ribs since he'd woke up in the future, or maybe so much earlier than that. </p><p>"We just got back."</p><p>A mission then. And Naruto not being here now could only really mean one thing. "So the hospital then."</p><p>Something funny happened to Kakashi's expression, surprise that somehow didn't look surprised at all. "Some things never change I guess."</p><p>Sasuke decided to ignore that. "Is he–"</p><p>"He's fine. He doesn't know you're here though."</p><p>"Why not?" Suddenly Sasuke's thoughts were a flood, each one that much worse, that much more likely. Sasuke could feel his expression beginning to try and crumble, the last thing he needed to let Kakashi see from him now. "You said he was fine, so why can't he know?"</p><p>Kakashi just watched him for a long moment. "You sound like you want to see him. Why?"</p><p>"I just think it's funny, that Naruto probably still thinks you actually care about him." Sasuke almost wanted to laugh, just to prove the point but the feeling wasn't there. No part of him wanted to be having this conversation at all. "What reason could you have to keep this from him?"</p><p>Kakashi's expression shifted beneath the mask, clearly unimpressed. "Do you know a lot about caring about Naruto?"</p><p>Sasuke turned away all at once, more dramatic than he could stand but it felt like the only option left to him. He just couldn't deal with Kakashi right now, not with this, not with that Naruto's last words to him before he'd returned still looping endlessly inside of him, those blue eyes that refused to stop watching him from behind his eyelids in the dark. "Just tell him."</p><p>"Tell him what exactly?"</p><p>Letting out a sigh Sasuke turned his head just enough to look at Kakashi again, a glare firmly in place. "Shouldn't he finally see what bringing me back here really means?"</p><p>Something flashed across Kakashi's face that was gone again just as quickly, and then he smiled. "Maybe you're right."</p><p>And then he left, just like that.</p><p>Sasuke sat there watching the wall behind where Kakashi had stood, wondering just how big of a mistake he'd just made. Seeing Naruto right now was as far from what Sasuke needed to be doing as he could get, but something inside him wanted it even more than that. Something inside of him just wanted Naruto to finally be himself again, to finally look at Sasuke the way he was meant to.</p><p>Maybe Sasuke just wanted to prove to himself that they were still themselves, that they could still become anything but that framed photo.</p><p>*</p><p>Sasuke woke up to someone softly shaking his shoulder, such a foriegn feeling he was half convinced he was still asleep. Then he opened his eyes and knew that he had to be awake, or maybe just desperately hoped that he was. Naruto was leaning over him, his Naruto, not the strange severe man who was waiting to take his place. Even in the dark Sasuke could see the smile on Naruto's face, the way his eyes were moving endlessly over Sasuke like he would never want to stop looking.</p><p>"Sasuke," Naruto breathed out as he squeezed Sasuke's shoulder, "You're really here."</p><p>Sasuke blinked, trying to force his mind to remember where he was, what he was supposed to say when even just pulling away from Naruto's hand felt impossible. "I don't think you're supposed to be in here."</p><p>Naruto laughed, like it was easy, like they met up inside Sasuke's cell all the time. "That's my line."</p><p>Sasuke felt like he was still half asleep, trying to find sense where there was none. All he could seem to want to do was take Naruto in, the easy emotion behind his eyes, his hair that was still sticking up in every direction, everything about him that was finally just the way it should have been. Sasuke couldn't even lie to himself anymore, he'd missed Naruto, so much more than he'd ever thought possible when he'd left all those years ago.</p><p>"What are you doing here Sasuke?" Naruto asked when it had apparently become clear Sasuke wasn't going to say anything. "What happened? They said you just appeared in the middle of Ganny's office."</p><p>Naruto was still so close, finding any words to say felt near impossible, so in the end ones more honest than Sasuke ever let himself say slipped out. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."</p><p>"Yes I would." </p><p>So sure. So clear, even now in the dark. Somehow Sasuke had let himself forget. </p><p>"Sasuke," Naruto went on, squeezing Sasuke's shoulder just slightly, "I trust you, just tell me."</p><p>This moment felt near impossible, seeing the exact thing he'd been craving all this time, and Sasuke could hardly believe it was real now. Words he could never say were building up in the back of his throat, so honest Sasuke felt close to suffocating. "How have you managed to stay like this?"</p><p>Naruto's head tilted just slightly to the side, confusion plain on his face. "Like what?"</p><p>Honest. Hopeful. Unavoidably everything Sasuke wanted and had to remember how to be without again. But he couldn't say any of that, wouldn't. Even just the weight of them inside him brought a fresh burn to Sasuke's eyes he couldn't fully blink away. "Happy."</p><p>Oh. That was probably even worse than all the rest.</p><p>Naruto's face did too much too quickly, settling on something uncomfortably close to that same, sad warm smile Sasuke had seen before opening his eyes in the Hokage's office. "I'm only happy cause you're here."</p><p><em> I'm sorry, </em> he couldn't say, <em> forgive me, please just forgive me one more time. </em>"I can't stay."</p><p>Naruto opened his mouth only to seem to think better of it, looking away for the first time. It took a moment for him to speak again. "Do you wish that you could?"</p><p>The question felt like it half ran him through, and then Naruto was looking right at him again and Sasuke was powerless against it. All he could do was nod, throat too tight for him to dare and try and speak now. </p><p>Naruto let out a long breath, his eyes going soft before he laughed. "You know, one of my clones had the strangest run in a few days ago. I had to finally just decide it would never make sense because it felt so impossible, but I bet you had a strange day too, ending up where you did."</p><p>Of course. In the way that none of this had many any sense, it made the perfect kinda. Of course Naruto had seen him too. "I was in some version of the future, with you."</p><p>Naruto's smile turned just slightly strained. "Is it weird to say I'm jealous of myself?"</p><p>"Don't be." Sasuke's words came out too sharp, urgency that had no room in the small space still left between them with Naruto leaned over him the way that he was. Sasuke knew he could get his space back just by sitting up, so he stayed just where he was, the rawest part of his thawed out wants winning out. "It wasn't right."</p><p>Something like hurt flashed behind Naruto's eyes. "Why not? You–I mean you came back to the village, right?"</p><p>"That wasn't what was wrong about it."</p><p>"What then?"</p><p>Sasuke felt his mouth start to tremble, but the words came spilling out all the same. "We weren't together."</p><p>"What do you mean? You just said you came back, and that's what future you told me too."</p><p>"I did, only–" Sasuke didn't know how to say it, what words would even begin to describe the shades of dread and despair that were slowly eating him up inside. </p><p>But that very hesitation was what had led them to that point, Sasuke knew that now. Silence couldn't be his choice again, not if Sasuke wanted to change anything that was ahead of them. Even if it felt impossible with Naruto looking down at him like that. Especially then. </p><p>"Sasuke come on, just–"</p><p>"We weren't together. We both married someone else."</p><p>Naruto's face twisted up in confusion before his eyes went wide, his hand just barely rising up off of Sasuke's shoulder. A kind of expression took over his face that Sasuke hadn't seen in years, lost and small and unsure. "You mean you–what are you talking about Sasuke?"</p><p>"I don't want to get married." Hand just barely trembling Sasuke reached up, his fingertips brushing Naruto's jaw before he was cradling it in his palm. "I don't want you to get married either."</p><p>Naruto's lips parts but now words came out, for once the one struck speechless between them.</p><p>They were still so close, with Naruto undeniably warm and real beneath his hand. After doing everything not to think about it for days, eons, Sasuke couldn't push it away now. The last thing he wanted to do was push it away, especially if it meant they could never come close to having it at all.</p><p>Sasuke decided to steal Naruto's words for himself, knowing they wouldn't be missed. "You're the only one I'll ever see."</p><p>"Sasuke," Naruto practically breathed out, disbelief slowly bleeding out of his eyes, but the nerves still remained, the doubts he clearly didn't know how to move passed, "I don't know what to say."</p><p>"You don't have to say anything." Feeling like someone else entirely, or maybe finally just entirely himself, Sasuke pulled Naruto down towards him.</p><p>They didn't line up quite right, Naruto's nose running along the side of his own before their lips finally met, Naruto's full and slightly chapped against his own. Sasuke let his eyes fall shut, hand moving back until his fingers could run through Naruto's hair, nerves and desires filling him up inside. Naruto seemed to shudder loose at the touch, shifting so they were half pressed together from chest to chest, mouth parting against Sasuke's.</p><p>Naruto was actually kissing him back. </p><p>Maybe somehow they would make it, avoid what Sasuke had been doing everything to make himself believe wasn't their inevitable future. Maybe someday they would actually just get to be okay.</p><p>"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, his voice full of something Sasuke had never heard before, something he already wanted to crawl inside of and stay warm forever. "You remember this is me, right?"</p><p>Sasuke brought up his other hand, holding Naruto's face between them both. Slowly, hardly touching them at all Sasuke traced the top lines across Naruto's cheeks with each thumb, just below Naruto's too blue eyes. He was achingly perfect, for every single way that he wasn't but none so more than this moment, daring to care about Sasuke in every way that someone could. "Like you could ever be anyone else."</p><p>"I just–" Naruto's voice was still too small, and the vulnerability behind his eyes was unavoidable.</p><p>"Naruto." Sasuke swallowed, making himself hold Naruto's eyes when so much inside of him was screaming to look away. But he was still himself, and words not designed to harm were always so hard to pry out of his mouth. "I don't want to hurt you anymore."</p><p>"You don't hurt me Sasuke," Naruto said quietly, somehow making a lie sound like the truth, "I just miss you. I just want you to be okay."</p><p>Kissing Naruto again felt like the only thing he could do in response, giving himself over to it with everything he didn't know how to say. He just needed Naruto to know that it was true, for that shadow of doubt to be gone from his eyes when they parted again. Sasuke knew that Naruto cared, it was impossible for him not to, but he'd never tried to make it even half as clear in return. He needed Naruto to know, to feel it all over inside and out, that Sasuke was just as adrift without him as Naruto was, like a sail without a boat, a river with no ocean to flow into, lost to it.</p><p>Somehow Sasuke made himself pull back, lighting up inside like he never had before when Naruto leaned down after him, taking one more lingering kiss before he finally let them part. </p><p>It was the last thing he wanted to say, but Sasuke knew that he had to. "I have to leave, I can't stay here yet."</p><p>This was where Naruto argued, fought, pleaded with Sasuke to stay, but the words never came. Instead Naruto smiled, his voice quiet and just slightly wavering, eyes shining in the dark. "Promise you'll come back?"</p><p>For the first time all night, finding the words Sasuke needed to say felt easy.</p><p>*</p><p>Once they were far enough away from the village for Sasuke not to worry he stopped, landing on a tree branch in the early morning light. Naruto touched down next to him almost immediately after, his smile shaky but still there.</p><p>Sasuke wanted to reach out and feel it for himself, but making himself go any further if he gave in again now would be near impossible. "You shouldn't come any further than this, you're already going to be in trouble if they find out you helped me escape."</p><p>Naruto shrugged. "It'll be okay."</p><p>Sasuke wanted to ask Naruto so many things in that moment, how he could still have faith in him after everything Sasuke had done, why he'd never given up on him, how he could look at him that way after everything, but for once Sasuke held all his petty doubts at bay. For the first time it felt like he already knew the answer. For maybe the first time Sasuke thought he felt the same answer beating out beneath his ribs. </p><p>He felt his expression going soft and Sasuke let it happen, mouth pulling up at the corners in a rusty attempt at honesty. "Okay." </p><p>Sasuke let himself take in Naruto one last time, from the line of his jaw to the piece of hair caught beneath his forehead protector. However long it would be until they saw each other again, it was too much time. Sasuke already missed Naruto like an ache he couldn't escape from, between each and every one one of his joints.</p><p>"I'll see you soon."</p><p>Sasuke nodded, words impossible again. Taking in a heavy breath he turned away, pushing off while unable to let himself look back. </p><p>He was hardly a heartbeat away when Naruto called out.</p><p>"I know I'm helping you leave now, but tomorrow is tomorrow." There was laughter in his voice, somehow serious and light all at once. "It's not like I can just stop trying to bring you home now."</p><p>Something inside of Sasuke relaxed, and then he jumped away, hoping against hope that somehow tomorrow could truly come for them so soon, that all their unknown tomorrows could be as staggeringly lovely as this blink of a moment together had been.</p><p> </p>
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